Laura Tyson is named dean of Berkeley business school

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, May 16, 1998

Laura D'Andrea Tyson, former chief economic advisor to President Bill Clinton, was named the new dean of the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley Friday.

Tyson will succeed outgoing Dean William Hasler, who has chosen to return to private business. Tyson's appointment, effective June 30, will make her the only woman serving as dean of a major business school in the country.

"'I'm obviously very pleased it's Laura," said Hasler, who was not involved in the selection process. "She's obviously had very senior responsibilities in the policy arena. Because of that, she has very strong contacts, and she can bring a lot of attention to the school."

The 51-year-old Tyson, who could not be reached for comment Friday because she was giving final exams, chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 1993 to 1995, then went on to succeed Robert Rubin as Clinton's national economic advisor.

In 1997, she returned to teaching at UC-Berkeley, where she had first joined the faculty in 1977. She is a graduate of Smith College who earned her Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tyson taught at Princeton University before joining Berkeley.

Tyson is known as an international authority on U.S. economic competitiveness, trade policy and U.S.-Japan relations. Prior to her appointments in Washington, she was research director at the Berkeley Roundtable on International Economy and director of the university's Institute of International Studies.

Hasler, 56, said he had notified the chancellor's office 2-1/4 years ago that he wanted to step down at the end of this academic year. He will become the co-chief executive of Aphton, an international biotechnology firm, and work out of San Francisco.&lt;